Whether he will get it or not is open to question, but kickstarter allows investors to get screwed so it makes sense to do it, particularly as they will have no way to interfere with the movie or get a cut of box office / DVD income

nigeman:Whether he will get it or not is open to question, but kickstarter allows investors to get screwed so it makes sense to do it, particularly as they will have no way to interfere with the movie or get a cut of box office / DVD income

But if they pledge $50 they get a sweet ass pineapple express keychain.

"Kickstarter is a bad thing and you should feel bad if you support this.

Instead of the usual process of "guy has an idea, gets investors, produces the idea, and if it's well liked he and the investors profit, if it's not, they're boned" this is becoming "guy has an idea, asks fans to chip in with money as investors, produces the idea, and if it's well liked he, and only he, makes the profits while the fanvestors just get some swag and glee, if it's not well liked, well, he didn't lose s*** and can go about his day."It's just a very clever way of separating a fool and his money.

Look at the Veronica Mars shenanigans. Gee, Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell wanted to make the movie to "please the fans", so they asked the fans for support. Fans are flocking in droves and it's nearly reaching the 2 million dollars goal in less than a week. After they get the money, the movie will be filmed and, Warner Brothers agreed that they'd distribute the movie. Guess what's gonna happen? Veronica Mars will be a modest hit with a big ROI. Rob Thomas, Kristen Bell and WB will share the profits and the fans will get their glee. That's like getting charged twice. Plus in order to get the movie you need to chime in with at least $35 which is much more than a movie ticket or an iTunes download of the film.

If you think this is good, again, you should feel bad. They're taking a loan from all of you and will pay you exactly zero interest besides glee. Now, if glee is enough for you, then be my guest, but it's still a dumb thing since there are people who charge for giving loans, they're called banks. You're giving them free money so they can make free money. It's a win-win financial scenario for them and you're just getting glee out of it. Again, that's fine and dandy, but it's dumb.

Kickstarters should be made for non-profit products instead of commercial crap being sold to 3rd parties. A guy has a cool idea and he can't make it happen due to lack of funding money? It's okay then as long as he doesn't get to sell the products. Only the investors should get products and it's okay if the guy ends up with some extra money from the whole thing as a reward."

HA! Just like I predicted. Hollywood is looking at the golden goose and it's trying to exploit the ripe fruit.

rocky_howard:HA! Just like I predicted. Hollywood is looking at the golden goose and it's trying to exploit the ripe fruit.

Even if he was being serious, which hes not, the money wouldn't get taken out of any ones bank account unless the film was fully funded. Therefor nobody gets screwed. They get the film they donated to help get made.

rocky_howard:"Kickstarter is a bad thing and you should feel bad if you support this.

Instead of the usual process of "guy has an idea, gets investors, produces the idea, and if it's well liked he and the investors profit, if it's not, they're boned" this is becoming "guy has an idea, asks fans to chip in with money as investors, produces the idea, and if it's well liked he, and only he, makes the profits while the fanvestors just get some swag and glee, if it's not well liked, well, he didn't lose s*** and can go about his day."It's just a very clever way of separating a fool and his money.

Look at the Veronica Mars shenanigans. Gee, Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell wanted to make the movie to "please the fans", so they asked the fans for support. Fans are flocking in droves and it's nearly reaching the 2 million dollars goal in less than a week. After they get the money, the movie will be filmed and, Warner Brothers agreed that they'd distribute the movie. Guess what's gonna happen? Veronica Mars will be a modest hit with a big ROI. Rob Thomas, Kristen Bell and WB will share the profits and the fans will get their glee. That's like getting charged twice. Plus in order to get the movie you need to chime in with at least $35 which is much more than a movie ticket or an iTunes download of the film.

If you think this is good, again, you should feel bad. They're taking a loan from all of you and will pay you exactly zero interest besides glee. Now, if glee is enough for you, then be my guest, but it's still a dumb thing since there are people who charge for giving loans, they're called banks. You're giving them free money so they can make free money. It's a win-win financial scenario for them and you're just getting glee out of it. Again, that's fine and dandy, but it's dumb.

Kickstarters should be made for non-profit products instead of commercial crap being sold to 3rd parties. A guy has a cool idea and he can't make it happen due to lack of funding money? It's okay then as long ...

nigeman:Whether he will get it or not is open to question, but kickstarter allows investors to get screwed so it makes sense to do it, particularly as they will have no way to interfere with the movie or get a cut of box office / DVD income

You're not actually an investor -- you're getting no equity in the film.

rocky_howard:That's like getting charged twice. Plus in order to get the movie you need to chime in with at least $35 which is much more than a movie ticket or an iTunes download of the film.

For $35 bucks for the Veronica Mars movie you get the digital download on the day of that theatrical release. To me that is an awesome deal since it is cheaper than 2 movie tickets and a babysitter.

As far as pineapple express goes this kind of bugs me. Kickstarter worked for VM because it is going to be a tiny movie, and while the star is famous it is not like she is a huge A list actor who can get anything she wants made. James Franco and Seth Rogan are huge stars and the movie was produced by Judd Apatow a guy with a huge amount of clout in hollywood. If those guys can't get that movie greenlit then maybe it shouldn't be. And if a studio won't give them the money I would think those three guys would be rich enough to secure it on their own.

Not to mention, why the hell does a movie like Pineapple Express need 40 million bucks to get made?

I was a huge VM fan (excluding that shiatty third season but I blame the network for that one) but I thought this was a pretty shiatty way to go about doing this. If Warner Bros wants to make a movie, they have plenty of capital to fund a 4 million dollar movie. Hell, they waste that much promoting crap that costs way more and makes nothing. Buck up and give Thomas the money to make the movie and be done with it. Don't go begging your fans for cash to make the movie then charge them to go see it when it is done. If they donated more than $10, they should get a free pass to go see it in the theater. If they give more than $30, you mail them a Blu-Ray of the movie when its done. More than $100 a meet & greet and more than $5000 gets you a night with Bell at a hotel of your choosing (or Rob Thomas, if you swing that way).

mechgreg:rocky_howard: That's like getting charged twice. Plus in order to get the movie you need to chime in with at least $35 which is much more than a movie ticket or an iTunes download of the film.

For $35 bucks for the Veronica Mars movie you get the digital download on the day of that theatrical release. To me that is an awesome deal since it is cheaper than 2 movie tickets and a babysitter.

As far as pineapple express goes this kind of bugs me. Kickstarter worked for VM because it is going to be a tiny movie, and while the star is famous it is not like she is a huge A list actor who can get anything she wants made. James Franco and Seth Rogan are huge stars and the movie was produced by Judd Apatow a guy with a huge amount of clout in hollywood. If those guys can't get that movie greenlit then maybe it shouldn't be. And if a studio won't give them the money I would think those three guys would be rich enough to secure it on their own.

Not to mention, why the hell does a movie like Pineapple Express need 40 million bucks to get made?

40 million is easy to explain...10 million for Rogen, 8 million for Franco, 8 million for Apatow and 14 million for the rest of the filming.

bluenote13:I was a huge VM fan (excluding that shiatty third season but I blame the network for that one) but I thought this was a pretty shiatty way to go about doing this. If Warner Bros wants to make a movie, they have plenty of capital to fund a 4 million dollar movie. Hell, they waste that much promoting crap that costs way more and makes nothing. Buck up and give Thomas the money to make the movie and be done with it. Don't go begging your fans for cash to make the movie then charge them to go see it when it is done. If they donated more than $10, they should get a free pass to go see it in the theater. If they give more than $30, you mail them a Blu-Ray of the movie when its done. More than $100 a meet & greet and more than $5000 gets you a night with Bell at a hotel of your choosing (or Rob Thomas, if you swing that way).

I don't know I think Rob Thomas's explanation for what they are doing seemed legitimate. I mean Warner of course has the cash, but they have no idea if there is any interest. The kickstarter thing is basically fans putting their money where their mouth is with regards to their interest in the movie. And fans are not really just donating they are prepaying for stuff they probably would have paid for down the road anyways. I did the $50 pledge for my wife for her birthday. For that she gets the digital download on release day, a DVD and a shirt. The retail value of that stuff is easily more than $50. Like I said the digital download is awesome since 2 movie tickets and a babysitter is more than $35.

I thought about why they are not giving away movie tickets. But I imagine this is going to be a fairly limited release both in the length of time it is in theatres and the number of theatres it is in. If they give away tickets say someone in a small town buys one, what if his theatre isn't showing the movie, or if the movie is out of thetres before he can use his pass. I that respect I would rather have the download.

rocky_howard:"Kickstarter is a bad thing and you should feel bad if you support this.

Instead of the usual process of "guy has an idea, gets investors, produces the idea, and if it's well liked he and the investors profit, if it's not, they're boned" this is becoming "guy has an idea, asks fans to chip in with money as investors, produces the idea, and if it's well liked he, and only he, makes the profits while the fanvestors just get some swag and glee, if it's not well liked, well, he didn't lose s*** and can go about his day."It's just a very clever way of separating a fool and his money.

Look at the Veronica Mars shenanigans. Gee, Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell wanted to make the movie to "please the fans", so they asked the fans for support. Fans are flocking in droves and it's nearly reaching the 2 million dollars goal in less than a week. After they get the money, the movie will be filmed and, Warner Brothers agreed that they'd distribute the movie. Guess what's gonna happen? Veronica Mars will be a modest hit with a big ROI. Rob Thomas, Kristen Bell and WB will share the profits and the fans will get their glee. That's like getting charged twice. Plus in order to get the movie you need to chime in with at least $35 which is much more than a movie ticket or an iTunes download of the film.

If you think this is good, again, you should feel bad. They're taking a loan from all of you and will pay you exactly zero interest besides glee. Now, if glee is enough for you, then be my guest, but it's still a dumb thing since there are people who charge for giving loans, they're called banks. You're giving them free money so they can make free money. It's a win-win financial scenario for them and you're just getting glee out of it. Again, that's fine and dandy, but it's dumb.

Kickstarters should be made for non-profit products instead of commercial crap being sold to 3rd parties. A guy has a cool idea and he can't make it happen due to lack of funding money? It's okay then as long as he doesn't get to sell the products. Only the investors should get products and it's okay if the guy ends up with some extra money from the whole thing as a reward."

HA! Just like I predicted. Hollywood is looking at the golden goose and it's trying to exploit the ripe fruit.

Kickstarter is not legally allowed to sell equity, shares etc. There are all kinds of laws securities brokers have to follow. Kickstarter can't. It's the law.

Wait, this is for real? I remember seeing this video on April 1st and thought it a hoax. Danny McBride, while funny in the first one, just seemed pointless in the "trailer" for this kickstarted. Please don't do this.

Who says we need sequels? I feel if enough time has passed I just can't get back into the story. Dexter and Mad Men are good examples of this. Taking a year and a half between seasons, you come back and the characters/actors do slightly different things and it doesn't feel like a continuation of the story, more like a variation upon a theme.

Mawson of the Antarctic:Wait, this is for real? I remember seeing this video on April 1st and thought it a hoax. Danny McBride, while funny in the first one, just seemed pointless in the "trailer" for this kickstarted. Please don't do this.

Who says we need sequels? I feel if enough time has passed I just can't get back into the story. Dexter and Mad Men are good examples of this. Taking a year and a half between seasons, you come back and the characters/actors do slightly different things and it doesn't feel like a continuation of the story, more like a variation upon a theme.

This is one of the big reasons I stopped watching Mad Men. The breaks were just too long for me to get back in to the show. I have been slowly consuming Breaking Bad and should be caught up right at the point they are ready to start the new season this summer so that has worked out.

Netflix has been great for someone like me who watches shows in bunches. I have been doing that with Dr Who as well after finishing BSG.

If they have to get all their money from kickstarter, the movie isn't going to make a profit. The veronica mars movie will make next to nothing in theaters because it will release very limited with no marketing. that won't matter because the fans still get to see it the day it comes out and get the dvd.

Cheater71:Scorpitron is reduced to a thin red paste: So, Kickstarter... It's gonna be a big thing now, right? Moviemakers get all this free money from fans, make a money, keep 100% of the profit?

If they have to get all their money from kickstarter, the movie isn't going to make a profit. The veronica mars movie will make next to nothing in theaters because it will release very limited with no marketing. that won't matter because the fans still get to see it the day it comes out and get the dvd.

Well, it's already paid for, so there's problem, as long as tickets pay for theater placement and marketing.

If one of these Kickstarter projects is aimed correctly at a commercial market, it could be an insane boon for moviemakers -- absolutely no financial risk, other than future credibility, such as it is. Every dollar made is yours.

Actually, WB has agreed to pay for marketing and distribution, so I would say that you have no foundation to say that VM will make next to nothing. How wide it is released and how much money it actually makes is still a question.

Scorpitron is reduced to a thin red paste:If one of these Kickstarter projects is aimed correctly at a commercial market, it could be an insane boon for moviemakers -- absolutely no financial risk, other than future credibility, such as it is. Every dollar made is yours.

Even future credibility isn't at risk. As soon as you burn out one name, you just move onto the next person that had a producer title on some other huge movie in your genre. We already see it all over the place in the marketing of off-season schlock.

IrateShadow:Scorpitron is reduced to a thin red paste: If one of these Kickstarter projects is aimed correctly at a commercial market, it could be an insane boon for moviemakers -- absolutely no financial risk, other than future credibility, such as it is. Every dollar made is yours.

Even future credibility isn't at risk. As soon as you burn out one name, you just move onto the next person that had a producer title on some other huge movie in your genre. We already see it all over the place in the marketing of off-season schlock.

This is what worries me. I mean I have faith in the veronica mars project because it was a good show, and this is totally being driven by the creator and the star. But how long before some studio exec realize this is a way to make low risk projects for fanboys, and just starts going through obscure sci-fi or comic book properties that have a solid online following. They do a kickstarter drive raise a bunch of money, then make a dirt cheap 90 minute movie in like New Zeland or Prague with C list stars and with production values to rival one of those syndicated action shows that Bruce Campbell always used to do. I mean sure in the long run it isn't really something that is sustainable, but since when has hollywood cared as long as you can make a profit on your next few projects.

Actually, WB has agreed to pay for marketing and distribution, so I would say that you have no foundation to say that VM will make next to nothing. How wide it is released and how much money it actually makes is still a question.

The show originaly got about 1.5 to 2 million viewers a week. if we assume the movie is released nation wide and all 2 million of them go see the film and pay 10$ a ticket even though not all theaters cost that much, its winds up with 20 million gross. Although I don't expect all of them to see it given that they will get a digital download of the film the same day as the theater release.

We assume the cinemas take 25 percent of the films gross, leaving WB with 15 million. For a nation wide release, you'd have to assume they want to spend a decent amount on the marketing so lets say they match the production budget with 3 million. not exactly a decent amount but who spends more then the production budget on marketing? That takes us down to 12 million. And with dvds already being mailed out to donators they won't make a lot on dvd sales so that 12 million becomes the total profit minus the amount to ship the film rolls to cinemas.

Not exactly a huge profit and thats assuming that its released nationwide with a small marketing budget and that every single person who saw the show sees the movie and pays more then they need to.

Cheater71:Not exactly a huge profit and thats assuming that its released nationwide with a small marketing budget and that every single person who saw the show sees the movie and pays more then they need to.

That's probably about right. The only thing that is different is that there is only about 77,000 backers, And around 10,000 of those didn't even pledge enough to get a digital download so I would imagine those people will go see the movie. Add on that that some people who see the movie might go with friends or dates and some people might go see it just because of the buzz that the from the kickstarter campaign (or because they are Kristen Bell fans) they might sell more tickets than just the 2 million people who watched the show. Plus since you have to pledge at least $50 to get the dvd, they will probably a bit of cash on DVD sales.

The craziest thing about the kickstarter thing though is the fact that the dude who pledged 10 grand to get a speaking role in the movie, wasn't even a fan of the show. He was just some really rich dude who wanted to be in a movie.

The craziest thing about the kickstarter thing though is the fact that the dude who pledged 10 grand to get a speaking role in the movie, wasn't even a fan of the show. He was just some really rich dude who wanted to be in a movie.